1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to containers made of transparent material for storing both a compact disc and its accompanying printed material. The invention relates more specifically to an improved container for storing a compact disc and printed material, that provides a releasable magnetic or electrostatic means for maintaining the container in a closed configuration.
2. Description of Related Art
With the proliferation of the digital compact disc, there has developed a need for a package design that will protect the disc from scratches, abrasion, dust particles, and the like. The most commonly used package at the present time is a hard plastic container often referred to as a "jewel box". More recently, as a result of the need to find a more economical and compact container, several new compact disc storage devices have been introduced.
One alternative to the "jewel box" is a book-like cover with pockets to hold both the printed material and the compact disc. An example of such a design is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,717 issued to Manning on Jun. 15, 1993. There are several drawbacks to such designs. First, inserting and removing the compact disc from the pocket can be quite difficult and often abrasive to the disc surface. In addition, there is no specific mechanism for keeping the cover closed once the compact disc has been inserted and the container has been folded into a collapsed position. And thirdly, in order for one to read the table of contents, typically on the backside of the pamphlet insert, the cover must be opened.
A second attempt to produce a more economical and compact container is a package constructed of paper with a central post to hold the compact disc and further with an adhesive on the top of the post to hold the package closed when the compact disc has been inserted. An example of such a design is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,089 issued to Tillett et al. on Jul. 26, 1994. There are three main disadvantages with this package design. First, the adhesive used to hold the package closed has a limited life, with dust and other particles rendering it useless within a short period of time. Second, the package has no pockets for separate printed materials as most often accompany a compact disc. And third, because the cover is not completely sealed when in a closed condition, dust and other particles can still settle on the surface of the compact disc.